Celebrating Mothers and More

May is here, and this means that it is time to think about Mother’s Day. This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate mothers and other special women in our lives. Think about each of your students and remember those who may not live with their mothers. Check in with their family members for suggestions on who they may be able to focus on. Ask all families to send in a photo of the special woman in their lives to be used during the speech and language project.

There are a lot of stories that revolve around a child’s relationships with their mother or a special women figure and Mother’s Day. This is a list of some popular books to look for at your school, library, or local bookstore to incorporate into a lesson or speech therapy session:

The Night Before Mother’s Day by Natasha Wing

Happy Mother’s Day by Mercer Mayer

I Love You With All My Heart by Noris Kern

I Love You Because You’re You – Liza Baker

Oh, the Things My Mom Will Do by Marianne Richmond

Mother’s Day Surprise by Stephen Krensky

A Mom for Umande by Maria Faulconer

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Berenstain Bears and the Mama’s Day Surprise by Stan and Jan Berenstain

As you read several books, keep a chart with words that describe mothers and other special women. What are some things that these individuals do for their children and others? Brainstorm additional words that each child can add about their own mothers or special women in their lives.

While reading a few books, keep a list of words that describe mothers and special women from the stories. What types of items do these mothers do for their children and others? When you are finished, add additional words that the kids mention about their own mother. These will be especially helpful for the follow up activity. These words will be helpful with the next activity.

Take the descriptive words from above and put it to good use with an acrostic poem about mothers or a special woman. Give each child a piece of paper to draft their own poem. An example:

MerryOutgoingThoughtful HappyEagerRespected

When the draft is finished, copy it onto a large piece of construction paper and include a photo from home or have the kids draw a picture of the person they are writing about. When sending home the poems, be sure to explain what an acrostic poem is for families that may not be familiar.

Please comment with suggestions on activities for speech students or general-ed students related to mothers and Mother’s Day!

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Contributor

Lesley Slaughter

Lesley has over 14 years of staffing experience and has helped grow our schools division at Soliant from 3 recruiters to over 100! She’s originally from Northwest Georgia, holds a degree in Broadcasting, and loves spending time with her husband and 2 daughters.